The small ski stations in the area are proposing hiking among the alternative activities to pursue over the Christmas holidays.

Dedicated skiers need to head to higher-altitude ski areas such as Verbier, Zermatt or Glacier 3000 at Le Diablerets in the Vaud Alps that can count on glaciers for snow cover.

Website On the Snow on Tuesday listed 78 Swiss ski resorts that remain closed with hard-packed slopes at those that remain open.

Engelberg-Titlis in Central Switzerland had some of the best conditions with 155 centimetres of snow at the higher levels (above 3,000 metres) and all 22 lifts operating, although more than 30 percent of the runs were closed, according to the site.

The shortage of snow and the high franc are posing major challenges for the Swiss tourism sector.

Former federal government minister Adolf Ogi has called for a crisis summit to tackle the issues threatening Switzerland’s third or fourth biggest industry.

His call, relayed by the Sunday newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag, has won support from industry leaders and politicians.